GEORGIA V. TENNESSEE

The UGA women overcame a disastrous start to the meet to defeat Tennessee, while the men tied the Volunteers in an SEC tilt in Athens today.

Kylie Stewart and Meaghan Raab led the way for the Bulldogs, as Stewart won both backstrokes (53.29 and 1:55.44) and Raab took the 200 free (1:47.28). Raab also anchored the 400 free relay with a 48.83, the best in the field. Lexi Glunnwas also a double winner, going 1:02.18 and 2:14.37 in the breaststrokes.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for UGA, though, as they disqualified both their A and B 200 medley relays and then lost a tough 1000 free to start the meet. Tennessee’s Amanda Nunan was 9:53.43 to knock off Stephanie Peters(9:53.52) and Olivia Anderson(9:55.00) in a tight battle. The Bulldogs regained control, though, going 1-2 in the next four events.

Erika Brown won the 50 free (22.61) and 100 fly (52.74) for Tennessee, while Meghan Small powered to a 400 IM victory (4:13.73).

The meet also marked the return to the pool of Maddy Banic, who swam her first collegiate meet of the season after missing most of the fall semester (she did race at a club meet in December). Banic, a speed specialist, split 23.91 in the 50 fly on Tennessee’s “B” medley relay, touched 7th in the 50 free in 23.48, finished 5th in the 100 fly in 54.46, and split a 53.25 on the Vols’ “C” 400 free relay.

The men’s meet came down to the final relay, and even then, the score was settled in a tie.

The Tennessee men DQ’d their 200 medley B relay, but their A won it, getting a 23.29 breaststroke split from Peter Stevens. The Volunteers had a clutch swim early in the meet, as Kyle Decoursey stole the win from UGA’s Jay Litherland in the 200 free. Decoursey was behind by .25 at the 150 wall, but pulled ahead at the finish, going 1:36.54 to Litherland’s 1:36.55. The Bulldogs got revenge in another close race later on, as Camden Murphywent 1:46.53 to Sam McHugh‘s 1:46.75.

The Georgia men were nearly sunk by their lack of sprint depth– Tennessee took the top two spots in the 100 free and the top four in the 50 free. Bulldog Javier Acevedo helped keep things in check, though, winning the 100 back (47.59) and 200 back (1:45.34), the latter in a photo finish with Tennessee’s Joey Reilman (1:45.73) and Jay Litherland (1:45.87).

Two standout swims from Peter John Stevensand Ryan Coetzee highlighted the day for the Volunteers. Stevens, after his lightening-quick relay split, won the 100 breast in 52.91. Coetzee, meanwhile, blasted a 46.56 to win the 100 fly.

In the 400 free relay, Tennessee’s A and B relays went 1-2, closing out the meet in a tie between the two SEC teams.

PRESS RELEASE – UGA

ATHENS, Ga. — Saturday’s swimming and diving meet at Gabrielsen Natatorium ended with yet another victory at home for the Georgia women and a rare tie for the Bulldog men.

The No. 6 Lady Bulldogs recorded a 169-129 decision over Tennessee to improve to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC. The Lady Bulldogs are 23-0-1 in conference meets dating back to 2013 and they are 48-1, including 48 in a row, against SEC foes at Gabrielsen Natatorium. They also improved to 109-2 all-time inside their home arena.

On the men’s side, the meet came down to the last event, the 400 freestyle relay, where Tennessee claimed the first two spots and Georgia came in third to wind up deadlocked at 150-150. The tie is just the sixth for the Bulldogs’ program, which began in 1925, and only the second during Jack Bauerle‘s 35 years guiding the men.

“We preach it all the time, but that just goes to show how important it is to scratch and claw for every point you can get,” said Bauerle, Georgia’s Tom Cousins Swimming and Diving Head Coach. “It was one of those meets that I’m sure was fun for the fans to watch. It was just back and forth all day. We knew coming in that we would get a hotly contested meet from Tennessee. They pushed us and we pushed them and look how it turned out. Incredible.”

Javier Acevedo won twice for the No. 11 Bulldogs (6-1-1, 1-1-1 SEC) as he claimed the 100 backstroke in 47.59 and the 200 backstroke in 1:45.34.

Kylie Stewart and Lexi Glunn were double winners for the Lady Bulldogs. Stewart swept the backstroke races, going 53.29 in the 100 and 1:55.44 in the 200. Swimming in Lane 8 each time, Glunn took both breaststroke events with times of 1:02.18 and 2:14.37.

The Lady Bulldogs won the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle races. Veronica Burchill took the 100 in 49.36, Raab won the 200 in 1:47.28 and Courtney Harnish claimed the 500 in 4:48.99. Megan Kingsley stopped the clock in 1:57.16 to win the 200 butterfly.

The 400 freestyle relay of Burchill, Stewart, Maddie Wallis and Raab won in 3:18.33.

Georgia next will host Emory on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m. The SEC Championships will take place Feb. 14-18 in College Station, Texas.

PRESS RELEASE – TENNESSEE

ATHENS, Ga. — Behind a wild 1-2 finish on the final relay, the Tennessee men’s swimming and diving team tied Georgia 150-150 on Saturday at Gabrielsen Natatorium.

The Vols (6-1-1) trailed by 13 points heading into the final 400-yard medley relay but split its top relay squad across two teams. The risk paid off.

In the women’s meet, the ninth-ranked Lady Vols (6-3) lost to sixth-ranked Georgia (8-0), 169-139.

The Tennessee men won eight of 16 events, getting most of its victories in the first half of the meet.

Redshirt junior Colin Zeng led the Vols with two victories in the diving well, taking the 1-meter springboard in 396.15 and the 3-meter competition in 419.85. Tennessee diving provided key points in the third-to-last event, the Zeng heading up a 1-2-4 finish on 3-meter with Liam Stone taking second and Will Hallam fourth.

Additional wins on the men’s side included: DeCoursey in the 200 freestyle (1:36.54), Peter John Stevens in the 100 breaststroke (52.91), Powers in the 50 free (20.12), Alec Connolly in the 100 free (44.31) and Coetzee in the 100 butterfly (46.56). Tennessee also won the 200 medley relay to open the meet (1:25.80).

The Tennessee women won seven of 16 events, headlined by two-win days by junior diver Rachel Rubadue and sophomore Erika Brown.

Rubadue swept the women’s diving competitions, winning the 1-meter competition before the session (282.08) followed by a season-best performance on 3-meter springboard (329.48).

Brown won the 50 freestyle (22.60) and the 100 butterfly (52.74).

Freshman Amanda Nunan added a win in the 10000 freestyle (9:53.43), and sophomore Meghan Small won the 400 IM (4:13.73). The Lady Vols opened the swimming competition with a win in the 200 medley relay (1:39.58).

UP NEXT: Tennessee concludes the regular-season schedule next week with a 1 p.m. home meet against Florida. Admission is free. The senior class will be honored before the meet.

QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Kredich:
“It was a great SEC battle. Each team threw significant punches during the meet. They went 1-2-3 in the 400 IM; we did the same in the 50 free. We knew we could get 1-3 in the relay, but we pulled Alec to swim on the B. Joey Reilman had a great last leg on the B to pull it out at the wall. It was a great test and a lot we can pull from it.

“There were some guys who didn’t win but gave us great points. They weren’t wins but they kept us in the meet. It gave us a sense that we were in it and fighting.

“In the women’s meet, we had some bright spots but we’re still swimming timidly too often. I want to see us as a team have more of that spitfire attitude in the middle and end of the race. We were unsure, Georgia took advantage of that. It was good to see Meghan Small back in the 400 IM after being hurt a lot in the last year. We are making progress, but didn’t have the confidence that a meet against Georgia requires.”

Diving Coach Dave Parrington:
“We knew diving was going to be big in both meets, and it especially ended up that way on the women’s side. Because we started early, we had to get the teams off to a good start.

“In the men’s 3-meter, we could see we were in a tight meet. Georgia had just gone 1-2-3 in the previous event, so we met as a team and said we needed to get the points back. We went 1-2-4. Colin had a great event. Liam had one of his best practices this season before competition and had a solid event.

“I was really pleased with Rachel. She was diving versus one of her former club teammates. She’s a good-natured rival. Rachel was steady and solid on 1-meter, and Ana (Hernandez) did some good stuff as well. Rachel put up her best score of the year on 3-meter, and that was especially good to see on the road. Ana struggled a little but she’s still getting the experience she needed.”